Conrad j



. UNITED vSTATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

CONRAD J. KILIAN, on MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

AXLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 542,264, dated July 9, 1 895. Application filed August 4, 1894. Serial No. 519,443. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CONRAD J. KILIAN, ot Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Axles, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

My invention Arelates to an improvement in those axles that are especially used with wagons or road-vehicles.

Heretofore in vehicle-axles made of solid steel, in common use, the hub of the wheel has mostly been made to tit and run directly on the round tapered extremity of' the axle, which, being very small, is found not to atford such sufficient bearing for the hub as is satisfactory for properly supporting the wheel and furnishing it an easy bearing.

The objects of my invention include providing with a small steel or other metal axle a suitable enlarged wheel-bearing, which is also made removable from the axle, thereby providing for readily renewing the bearing "when it has become worn.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an exterior view of my improved axle. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is an end view of the axle, the cap-nut beine.l removed. Fig. lis a similar end viewof the axle, the cap-nut, the look-nut, and the retaining-sleeve being removed. Fig. 5 is a View of the retaining-sleeve at its inner end.

In the drawings, is a solid metal axle, usually of steel, which has atapering extremity adapted to receive thereon the round tapering skein 1l. The axle is usually square or of parallelogram form in cross-section, and the tapering form 12 is also conveniently made in square form inl crosssection, although this shape is not deemed an essential feature of myinvention. At its Outer extremity the axle is provided with a contracted screw-threaded centrally-projecting stem 13. The skein 11 is made of any suitable metal, and consists of the tapering sleeve-like shell 14, which is diametrically larger than the tapering portion 12 of the axle, the circular disk-like end 15, through which the axle is inserted centrally, and which-preferably projects as an annular lflange at the larger inner end ot' the shell, and of ribs 16, as long as the shell and projecting inwardly therefrom, the inner edges of which ribs are so tapered as to t their entire length on the tapering surface ot' the part l2 of the axle, near its extremity. Aretaining-sleeve 17, having` acentral aperture therethrough for the free passage of the stem 13, is fitted loosely about the extremity OE the portion 12 of the axle and bears against the outer end of the skein 1l, being held thereto by the lock-nut 18, which turns on the stem 13 against thesieeve 17, by which means the skein 11 is forced snugly upon and is wedged to the tapering extremity of the axle. The sleeve 17 is screw-threaded exteriorly, and a cap-nut 19 turns by its thread onto the sleeve 17, inclosin g the sleeve, the end of the axle, and the nut 18, the cap-nut being provided with an annular flange 20at its inner end, which is adapted to retain the wheel rotatably on the skein 11, the annular flangelike edge of the end 15 of the skein being adapted to receive the thrust inwardly of the hub of the wheel. p

The screw-threaded sleeve 17 is a valuable improvement in that it is a convenient means .for holding the cap-nut 19 in position and in that it is detachable and may be readily replaced when worn or accidentally destroyed. In this device, as in most axles, the wheel is held in place on the axle by the flange 20 of the nut. On rough roads, and particularly where wagons run on and o and over street-car tracks, there .is liable to be severe lateral thrust of the wheel against the nut 19, and it is not infrequent that thereby the thread in the nut,

or on lthe sleeve 17, or the similar part that vtakes the screw-threadot the nut, is broken down or stripped off, and in such cases a new nut-holding' means must be provided. This can readily be done by using the detachable sleeve 17.

It will be understood that the skein 11, while providing an enlarged bearing for the hub, is, by reason of its shell-like and ribbed construction, light of weight and inexpensively made, while through its entire length it supports and strengthens the axle and is so secured lto the axle as to be readily re- IOS moved therefrom, thus providing for conveniently repairing or replacing it by a new one when it has become much worn.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a metal axle having a contrated screw-threaded stem, of a removable skein tted on the axle a detachable exteriorly screw-threaded sleeve on the end of the axle bearing against the skein and a looknut turning on the stem against the sleeve, adapted to hold the skein in place on the axle, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a metal axle having a tapering extremity and a screw-threaded stem, of a detachable enlarged skein fitted ou the tapering extremity of the axle, a detachable exteriorly screw-threaded sleeve bearing against the outer extremity of the skein, a

lock-nut turning ou the stem against the z sleeve, and a cap-nut turning by screw-thread on the sleeve and inelosing the sleeve, the screw-threaded stem and the nut thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature z 

